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Canneles Pretenders

June 17, 2007

I can't believe I have waited this long to make "canneles" (ka-ne-lays), just because I did not have the proper canneles molds. This specialty tea cake from the region of Bordeaux is one of my all time favorites but when I moved to the US, those little shiny molds where not part of the "must have" items I took with me. Literary folks, I moved here with 2 suitcases full but not much from the home country. My parents have been filling the gaps and fulfilled my nostalgic demands with every visit they make but very soon after my moving here the craving started to hit really bad.

To fix my sweet tooth, I started baking them in muffin tins and small ramequins but I always hesitated posting about them, fearing "canneles" traditionalists and purists woud give me the evil eye and roll their shoulder in disappointment. Well, that was until I read this post by Melissa at The Traveler's Lunchbox. It made me realize that if something is good, does it really matter if the shape of the final product is different than the traditional? Isn't respecting the ingredients and baking method the most important?

How to describe a "cannele"...hmmm...that's kind of a tough one. Dark but not burnt on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The batter is like a thick crepe batter turning into a cake right before your very eyes while wrapping your senses in an intoxicating aroma of vanilla and rum. Do not wait to get the right molds to try these as the one you eat quickly becomes two and three and pretty much you forget they were supposed to make it to the neighbors' house (oops!). When the time came to make these the other day, I could not find my little blue notebook with all the recipes I had gathered before I left France and after looking at many recipes and variations for canneles, I finally settled on this one which gave me the most wonderful little morsels.

In a saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer, add the butter cut into dices. Mix well and let cool to lukewarm.In a bowl, mix the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla and whisk until foamy. Slowly add the rum and flour. Add the milk slowly and whisk until smooth. Pass it through a sieve if neessary.Let the batter rest in the fridge for a ouple of hours or overnight. (I make mine the day before)When the batter has rested, preheat the oven to 425F and divide it evenly among the muffin tins, generously coated with cooking spray or well buttered. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour.If you can wait, you will find that they are better the next day.

Apologies to all "canneles" purists but what is a girl to do when the cravings strike and cannot wait?

38
comments:

Never fear posting your experiments, I am so glad to know that you can do this. I always hesitated because I didn't have beeswax to grease the molds, but it looks like you don't use that either? This is going on my to-make list!

I put off making them for years as I too could not find the moulds.When I finally made them in the muffin tins I couldn't believe I had waited that long!However, I only make them for my family & a few close friends who are familiar with canneles because I don't think my customers would purchase them based on their looks. How sad! Once you take that first bite there is nothing that compares!

A blogger in Paris kindly offered to get some cannele molds for me and post them to NZ. I never thought to use muffin pans. Mine didn't turn out so well and I have yet to make them a second time. They tasted fantastic though.http://winosandfoodies.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/12/wawhhh_i_need_h.html#

This is too amazing...first the ice cream recipe, now canneles! I lost my canneles recipe in my last move before I got to make them. Actually, I've never tried them but became intrigued when my ex boyfriend explained them and how to make them to me a while back. I've been on a search for the molds for some time and I'm very excited to know that muffin tins are met with the approval of a french pastry chef. Merci!

Those look absolutely delicious, Helene! I've never had cannelés, and I have to admit they are on my list of 'too scary to ever try making myself' because of the beeswax thing. You make it sound like a doddle though, so I might have to dig out my muffin tin and try my hand at them.

I am not sure these should be called pretenders...I think they look just as fabulous as the original! I love your creativity and enthusiasm...and wow, wouldn't I love to get a peek at your dessert notebooks!:)

This is such good news Helen. Like you, I have been putting off making canneles because I never had those incredibly expensive copper moulds that they tell you to bake them in. If had known that they come out just as good in muffin tins then I would have been making them already. I am looking foward to finally trying canneles out!

These have been on my list forever. I have collected recipes, read scads about the romance (and pitfalls) of making them and eaten the most amazing ones from Mrs. London's in Saratoga Springs, NY. I wasn't going to make them without the molds either, but seeing that you did - I'll give it a go! Do you think they'd work in a mini muffin pan?

I like that you've used a muffin tin to make canneles - I've been wanting to make these but never did because I didn't have the right molds. But hey, your's are refreshing & inspiring! I might try using muffin tins myself now!